


Stuck With You

by karmans



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern, But Shadow can, F/M, High School AU, Knuckles will beat the hell out of you, M/M, Mild Depression Warning, Mild angst warning, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD, Shadow acts edgy but actually has a huge heart of gold, Shadow has PTSD, Shadow is secretly dying inside, Shadow really needs a hug, Shadow treats his motorcycle like a child, Slow Build, Sonic CANNOT swim, Sonic has ADHD, Sonic is basically friends with everybody because he's that kind of guy, Tails is a science nerd, but Shadow is secretly a nerd too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-29 12:12:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17203178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karmans/pseuds/karmans
Summary: After a tragic family accident leaving only him alive, Shadow is forced to move away from anyone and anything he ever loved and live thousands of miles away from home in a small and cramped space donated by the government until he turns into a legal adult, where he'll have to fend for himself from that moment on. As he moves into his apartment, his next door neighbor happens to be the most annoying person in the world. Deep down, Shadow believes that maybe they could be friends, but Shadow doesn't believe so. Sonic on the other hand, is trying everything in his absolute power to make the new guy smile. As high school comes around, things take a surprising turn that eventually leads to the two's ultimate friendship. But as they grow closer, will their unyielding friendship ever be... more?Find out here, in Stuck With You!





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, readers! This is officially the new and *hopefully* improved revision of Adventures of Mobius High! I hope that you enjoy this new version! Some things will be the same, others different, and when the title drops... STUFF GOES DOWN. Again, please enjoy, and comment for ideas and constructive criticism! See ya later!

* * *

 

Rain poured down against the taxi window, forming blurry streaks against the glass. Inside, a lone boy stared bleakly outside, feeling the weather's mood. As the taxi pulled into a spacious parking garage, Shadow tore his gaze from the window to the taxi driver looking at him from the rearview mirror. The driver pulled into a convenient spot right by the elevator, and exited the vehicle, Shadow close behind. They made their way to the trunk, where Shadow's most needed belongings awaited him in several packed suitcases. As they unloaded the taxi, Shadow went to pay, but the man held out his hand. "I've already been paid to take you here. There's no need to pay me twice," he said. Shadow just nodded, and walked towards the elevator, dragging two rolling suitcases behind him, the taxi driver right on his heels. They ascended the elevator, up to Floor 6, and the man gave Shadow a map of the apartment complex and the location of his room. "I've pre-checked you in. Here's your room key."

The man took a key out of his pocket and handed it to Shadow. It had the number 18 on it. "I'm afraid that this is where I depart, young man." The guy let go of Shadow's extra suitcases and began walking back down the hall towards the elevator at the end. "Your moving van should be here shortly with your motorcycle and other things. Good luck moving in," he said as he descended, leaving Shadow in silence, completely and utterly alone. Again.

 _Well, not completely, it seems,_ Shadow thought as he glanced at the room next to his which was currently spurting out muffled sounds of drilling, hammering, and other odd noises.  _Sounds like their room is under construction, whoever's room it is,_ Shadow thought once more. Sighing and putting his key in the lock, he twisted with a flourish of his hand and entered his new home. 

 

 


	2. New Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter was the intro, now we're getting into it!

* * *

 

Shadow sighed. He has had enough for one week.

One week, where everything he had ever known went out with a literal bang.

One week, where he had been assigned to live in a tiny cramped apartment until he was old enough to fend for himself and left alone in the world with nobody to turn to. Nowhere to run, or hide.

One week, where he was told that he would move far away from his home, his state, which was the only place he could truly call home, because home is where the heart is, and he left his heart where his family is now buried six feet underneath the earth.

One week, where he was told he would be assigned into a high school, and expected to pick his life up again like nothing ever happened.

Bullshit.

Shadow groaned and literally plopped onto his couch, dropping his grocery bags on the floor by his feet before he did so. He covered his face with his hands, and just thought. Thought about his family, if they were still here, and what they would do to try and cheer him up. They would either find that one pressure point near the center of his back and make him spaz out in a fit of laughter, threaten not to give him bacon for a week if he didn't smile, or call up Maria and put the phone on speaker so that she could tell him her god-awful puns. Which he always laughed at, by the way.

Thinking back to when he first arrived here, at his new home, only 3 weeks ago and right after the incident, Shadow felt tears well up in his eyes. No. Don't cry. He  _couldn't_ cry, he had to stay strong for his family, for Maria. Shadow let out a bitter laugh at the thought of Maria, all the way back home, stuck in a hospital bed somewhere because of her disease.  She was literally the only living thing he had left of home, except that she was 1,000 miles away from him and in no condition to talk to him with how her illness is acting up. At this rate, Maria will be gone within the year, and then Shadow really will have nothing except the clothes on his back and the stuff his parents left to him in their will. 

He had inherited his parents entire life savings, including retirement money. So, even if he was somehow unable to get a job before he turned 18, he had enough money to last in his tiny apartment long enough to find one. If worst came to worst, he would go homeless and drift in between shelters, living a life of shoplifting, barrel fires, and sleeping under bridges until he died. (Which would still be a better way to go than his family).

Shadow turned on his side on his couch, fingering the golden rings around his neck. His parents’ wedding rings. His parents had always been simple people, so when the time came to get married, they didn’t get fancy diamonds or anything to express their love, because they had told Shadow that the only way they could express their love was through him. It sounded cheesy, sure, but it was true. They would say it word-for-word, every day to him, every time he was sad. 

Thinking back to all of this, it became too much. Shadow gritted his teeth angrily and bolted upright. He would  _not_ cry. He still had one person in this world left to live for, dammit, and he was gonna see through to it that Maria survived, and eventually live longer than he would. Shadow took a deep breath, calming his emotions. He laid back down on his couch, and began to think about his plan here. 

The school that the government had signed him up for was pretty nice. There were modern, glass windows, and the place seemed to be a pretty new, high-tech school. From what Shadow had heard, they had 3-D printers, solar and wind energy generators, and even those cool touch-screen soda machines. Now, the tricky part. Should Shadow just not give a damn and drop out the second he walks in there, or actually try to adjust and move on? Well, he knew which option his parents would want him to do, and that was the second option, but he didn't really feel like committing or applying actual work into anything right now. Shadow was too tired and depressed from recent events to really truly comprehend anything at the moment. Hell, he still had a large pile of boxes stacked in one corner containing all belongings and memories of the past that reminded him of them. He was NOT unpacking that anytime soon. 

Sitting up with another groan, Shadow stood. Shuffling his feet, Shadow made his way down the extremely narrow hallway to his tiny room. Laying on his bed, not bothering to remove his clothes, he grabbed his sheet and halfheartedly pulled it up before falling asleep, after staring blankly at the wall for several minutes. Life was NOT going to be easy for him here.

 

* * *

 

 

A bang on his door.

Shadow awoke with a start, jumping at the noise. Leaning over and checking the time, the clock read 4:54 AM. Grumbling and wondering why anyone in their right mind would be up at this hour, Shadow begrudgingly got up and walked towards his door. Looking through the peephole, he saw a guy around his age, with shaggy, dyed blue hair and a slightly nervous smile on his face and dark, forest-green eyes unlike Shadow's own deep amber ones. Sighing, he opened the door, much to his apparent neighbor's surprise, as the guy jumped.

"Oh, umm... hi!" the stranger said.

"Hello."

"Are you new here? I saw you move in a couple weeks ago, but didn't really have the time to say hi, but I live next door, so I guess we're neighbors now, huh?"

"Yes, that's probably correct."

"Oh, well, umm... sorry if I woke you up, I know It's kinda early and I-"

"It's fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, umm, alright then. Uh, you got a name?"

"....Shadow."

"Shadow? That's kinda... dark..." Shadow's new neighbor trailed off and smiled at his own pun. How pathetic.

"Yeah, well, blame my parents for that one." Shadow's lips formed a thin line.

"Okay, well if we're playing nicknames here, then I'm Sonic."

"OK."

"'OK'? Just, 'OK'? Isn't my name, like, awesome?"

"Not really." Shadow sighed. He was getting bored of his new 'friend' fast.

"Welp, if you need anything just holler, 'kay Shadow?"

"Right."

"Bye!"

And with that, 'Sonic' left and Shadow went back to bed.

This was going to be an interesting new life.

 

* * *

 

 

Sonic closed the door quietly to his apartment, lost in thought. He had so many questions about his new neighbor that it wasn't even funny. From his experience, the best way to get to know somebody is if you analyze everything about them when you first meet them and then when you are better acquaintances with that person to compare their behaviors before and after being friends with them. Shadow, even after only a minute of conversation, already had a ton of mystery going on there. The guy was definitely putting up a facade. If Sonic was good at anything besides running, it was reading people. Shadow seemed like the kind of person who did NOT want to be seen through. He was hiding something. Sonic could see it in those deep amber eyes of his. Behind all that sharp, edgy exterior, there was a guy in there, hurting. Hurting because of what, Sonic didn't know yet, but he would soon find out, hopefully.

Sonic was a nice guy, and if anything, he wanted to be Shadow's friend, that is, if the guy would let him. Sonic was just naturally a people person. Shadow was obviously going through some kind of hard time in his life right now, and the best thing he needs is someone to talk to. Sonic, even though seemingly oblivious and fun on the outside, is a calculating and observant person on the inside. He knows what is secretly best for that person, even if that person doesn't know it yet. In this case, that person is Shadow.

Quietly tiptoeing around all the creaky parts in the floorboards so as not to wake his sleeping roommate, Tails, passed out on the couch from overworking his brain on some advanced particle physics summer school, Sonic quietly crept into his room and laid down. He had a lot to think about right now, and Shadow was at the top of his list, next to laundry, dinner, and breakfast. (dinner is always decided first in this household.) Recalling some things Sonic knew about him so far, Shadow was:

1) Hurting over something

2) Shielding his true thoughts from him, and,

3) Going through some serious teenage emo phase. 

Sonic frowned, not feeling happy with how little he knew about Shadow, and also not sure about that last one. Usually, when he met new people, he could read them so easily, and know that person better than themselves in a heartbeat just from their expression or the way they move. Shadow was different. When he was talking to him, the only indication that Shadow was even listening to him were that he responded to him and the occasional flicker of his eyes over the rest of his face. That was it. If Sonic wanted to know more about his mysterious neighbor, that meant getting to know Shadow through and through, knowing every secret and thought in his head.

In other words, becoming a friend.


	3. Remembering, Unpacking, and Trying to Forget

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow has family flashbacks as he finally decides to unpack his old stuff and officially move in. Sonic just kinda inserts himself and starts helping him unpack. Major Shadow POV, Minor Sonic POV. Tails is in this one. 
> 
> In short, this chapter is character development and some insight about what may have happened in Shadow's past on Sonic's POV

* * *

 

It has been a week since first meeting Sonic. Since then, Shadow hadn't really done much except mope around and eat crappy Chinese take-out. His small apartment was still mostly barren, void of the majority of his possessions. The countertops and shelves were empty, and the small hill of boxes looming at him from the corner was slowly starting to collect dust.  _Come on,_ the boxes seemed to say.  _Unpack us already, you know you have to._ Sighing reluctantly, Shadow moved towards them hesitantly. Did he really want to unpack those, knowing that he had at least two whole boxes containing family memories? And that he had to do it alone? 

Shadow paused as his fingers brushed the top of a box. 

Alone. 

No matter how hard he could try to hide it, Shadow never really could be alone. He had always had a supporting matrix of family to help him out. He never really made friends as a kid because of his awful social anxiety, so he always relied on family to help him with stuff. But this time, nobody was here to help him. Especially in his brooding state.

Until a knock on the door. 

 _Impeccable timing,_ Shadow thought. Already guessing who it was, Shadow gets up and opens the door without hesitation, revealing none other than his annoying neighbor, Sonic. Today Sonic's hair seemed to be even messier than the day he first met him, sticking out at awkward angles. Not that Shadow's hair was any better, though. When he first got up, he checked his reflection, and  _yikes_. He looked like he hadn't slept or seen the sun in days. Which he basically hadn't. 

Sonic greeted him with a happy "Hi, Shadow," and then looked over Shadow's shoulder to reveal his messy apartment littered with boxes. Sonic grinned. "Unpacking, yeah? Need help?" 

Shadow blinked. "Um, what?" It never occurred to Shadow that Sonic would even try to offer help. He had only met him twice, and both of those encounters were a week apart! 

Sonic sighed. "You know... do you need somebody to help you unpack your stuff?"

Shadow thought about this. He didn't really know Sonic, like, at all, but he seemed to be harmless, so maybe he wouldn't try to steal anything, or pull any tricks of the sort. On the other hand, if Sonic found his family photos and started to question him, Shadow would probably have to ask him to leave. He just wanted to lock those old memories up somewhere and bury them. There was a drawer with a lock-pad on his dresser, maybe he could use that... and plus... if he let Sonic help him, he wouldn't be alone...

Realizing that he had been there, leaning against his door-frame for quite some time, and that Sonic was still there waiting for an answer, Shadow stepped aside and let Sonic in with a nod.  _Don't pull anything on me,_  he thought. 

Looking around the apartment, Sonic reached to grab a box and opened it. Luckily, there were only books stacked neatly inside. Looking for Shadow's bookshelf, Sonic walked to the other end of the room and began stacking the books onto the first shelf. Shadow reached down and grabbed the first box at his feet. He opened it, revealing more books. He walked over next to Sonic and began stacking up books on the second shelf. This close up to him, Shadow got a better look at Sonic. He was about the same height as him, but had longer legs, whereas Shadow had a longer torso and arms. Sonic was probably a runner. Shadow, on the other hand, was also a runner, but he mained on the swim team. As a result, he had slightly broader shoulders and his legs weren't quite as long, but still longer than a lot of people's. Judging by his build, Sonic was probably best at running sprints or middle-distance. Overall, they appeared to be the same body build, with different features. 

As they unpacked the books in a slightly awkward silence, Sonic suddenly spoke up. "Do you want these stacked in any particular order? Like, alphabetically?" Shadow shrugged. "Doesn't matter, as long as it gets the job done." Sonic nodded, and continued. When they were done filling his entire bookshelf, Sonic moved to grab another box, except this one was labeled, "CLOTHES" Quickly thinking, Shadow stepped in and grabbed it before Sonic could. "I'm gonna go unpack in my room, you can just stay out here and get the kitchen stuff," Shadow said quickly, and turned the corner.  _I do NOT need him seeing my fashion choices,_ Shadow thought, slightly flustered.

When Shadow emerged, finished unpacking his clothes, he walked out into the tiny kitchen to see that Sonic was putting away silverware in a drawer. Reaching over, Shadow began to help him. When they were finished, Shadow walked over to the box that contained his microwave and pulled it out, placing it in the corner of the counter-top and plugging it onto the wall. Sonic did the same for his toaster. With the books and kitchen done, Shadow went over to the long and slim box containing his flat screen TV from home.  _Home_ , Shadow thought, and looked at the remaining two boxes, both filled with family photos and memories.  _Memories_ , the one thing he wished he didn't have right now. As Sonic went to pick up a memory box, Shadow suddenly exclaimed, "Wait!" earning a small jump from Sonic. Shadow cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uhmm, we should probably get the TV first, because it would be harder to do later on," Shadow said, hoping his excuse would play off. He really, _really_  didn't want Sonic questioning him about his family right now. Sonic just nodded, knowing that it was Shadow's apartment and that it was his stuff, so he wouldn't refuse.  _Thank God_ , Shadow prayed. 

They opened the box for the TV, and then lifted it up together, each on either end, and lowered it down onto the stand. Shadow plugged everything in, and _voila!_  Everything was unpacked! Except... 

"Uhmm... you can leave now. Thanks for helping me, I guess." 

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Ya sure? You've still got more boxes,"

"Yeah, It's fine, those boxes are full of... storage." 

"Well, okay. If you need anything just call through this wall," Sonic knocked against the wall the TV was against. "I'm literally right over there."

Slightly unsettled by suddenly knowing the walls were so thin, Shadow just shrugged. "Okay." 

"Welp, see ya." And with that, Sonic jogged out of his apartment and into his own, right next door. 

As soon as Sonic left, Shadow walked with caution over to where the two boxes filled with family stuff lay in the center of the room. Inhaling deeply, he opened one, immediately confronted with a family photo that sent a sharp, burning pain from his head to his heart. quickly picking it up and moving it aside, he found himself looking at a portrait of his mom, right after he was born. He shoved it away hurriedly, only to be presented with another, and another and another and another...

Until finally, he reached the bottom of the box, hands shaking and tears threatening to spill over, all of the photos spilled across the floor around him. Forcing away the tears, Shadow composed himself and sat up, suddenly exhausted. Trying his best not to look, Shadow quickly snatched all of the photos from the floor, shoving them roughly back into the box, closing it and shoving it away from him forcefully, back into the corner. He did the same with the other box, and sat down on his couch, rubbing his trembling hands together to calm them and relax, tapping his foot rapidly as he did so. 

Finally feeling a bit better, Shadow grudgingly got up and went to bed for the day, his mind a swirling, angry mess of emotions ready to spill over. 

 

* * *

_***Sonic's perspective of the encounter with unpacking stuff with Shadow*** _

Sonic woke up in his bed, TV still on from last night. He jumped out of bed and made his way to the kitchen where he could smell bacon.  _YESSSSSSSSSSSSS_  Sonic thought. As he made it to his kitchen, he saw none other than Tails at the stove, frying literal  _heaven_ , on a skillet. "Hey, Sonic," Tails said. Wow, Tails looked tired. Like, on the verge of passing out. Sonic sighed. "Tails..." he began in a suspicious tone. Tails perked his head up. "Yeahhhhhh....?" Judging on the guilty look on his face, Tails already seemed to know where this was going. "Were you up past curfew again?" Sonic accused. 

Tails sighed, looking down in defeat. "Yes."

Sonic facepalmed and leaned his elbows against the counter, resting his forehead on his hands. "Tails, why? We've been over this at least 10 times this week! I don't care about your robotics project just as long as you actually sleep for once! I mean, god, you're basically living off of adrenaline, coffee, and sheer willpower! How do you even do it, dude?" 

Tails shrugged. "I don't know, actually. But, on the bright side, I just installed a 400 terabyte drive into my new project, a fully holographic computer with Siri, Google Home, and Cortana COMBINED which basically equals Jarvis. Also, I downloaded  _Fortnite_. As of 3:27 this morning, I have 26 wins." 

Sonic's jaw literally dropped. "You were up all night playing Fortnite? Without me? How dare you dude. But that's besides the point! The point is that you were up when you weren't supposed to be, so you are officially grounded from Overwatch and Crash Bandicoot until you get your priorities straight." 

Tails groaned. "AWWWWW, dude, not Crash Bandicoot!! Why, cruel world, WHY?!" 

Sonic sighed. "It's the way it has to be."

Taking the skillet from Tails and basically inhaling half the bacon, Sonic jumped up and was about to tell Tails that he wanted to go see Shadow again, when Tails rattled a bottle of Sonic's ADHD pills in front of his face. Sonic groaned. He hated taking these things. So what, he was a little... fidgety. And couldn't stay still for more than 10 seconds without blowing up. And got extremely hyper for no reason. Pretty much all the time. But Sonic sighed and took them anyways, just to make Tails happy.

Tails is basically his best-friend-brother. They've been living together for god-knows-how-long after Sonic's mom took Tails in from an abusive family. Then, when Sonic got an amazingly well paying job at a Wendy's that payed at least $7 above minimal wage which was huge, Sonic's mom had agreed to get Sonic an apartment so that he could be energetic and free. Of course, Tails wanted to live with him, and so Sonic happily agreed on his friends request. Tails would pay for any fees involving nerdy science stuff and Sonic would pay half the rent while his mom paid the other half. Thus, the living space was taken care of. It also helped that his mom had a lucrative job. 

"Hey, Tails..." Sonic began. 

"Yeah?"

"Well... you know how I met Shadow that one week? I told you about him the other day, right? Anyways, it's weird. It's like he's hiding something, but I don't know what and it's driving me insane. How do I get to know him better?"

Tails thought a moment. "Well, he's new right? So, he probably needs help moving in or something. Why don't you go over and help him?" 

"YOU ARE A GENIUS! Thanks, buddy!" Sonic jogged out of the room and down the hall. Time to see what Shadow was hiding. 

 

* * *

 

Sonic knocked on Shadow's door, waiting for an answer. Surprisingly, it only took a moment for the door to open and not longer, revealing a very messy Shadow. His dyed hair was unruly and shaggy, his clothes were the same as previously, only more wrinkled, and the guy looked like he didn't sleep all night. His face looked slightly more pale and his eyes had a dead inside look. Sonic tried not to cringe and smiled. This guy was obviously going through a hard time.

"Hi, Shadow. Unpacking, yeah? Need help?" 

Shadow looked mildly shocked. He probably didn't even expect anyone to offer. After seeming to think about it, he let Sonic in with a nod. As Sonic walked in, he looked around. The place was identical to his apartment, if not smaller. His and Tails' had an extra bedroom but that was pretty much it. Sonic noticed a pile of boxes, and walked over, grabbing the first one he saw. Shadow hung back, probably suspicious of Sonic, a total stranger, going through his stuff. He opened the box to find books, and sensed Shadow relaxing slightly behind him.  _Hmmm,_  so in one of these boxes, there was something that Shadow didn't want Sonic to see, most likely the cause of his defensive nature.  

Walking over to the bookshelf, Sonic started unloading the boxes. Shadow walked over and helped him. Occasionally glancing over at Shadow, Sonic realized that they were around the same height, give or take. Looking at his hair, he realized that his natural hair color was probably black, and that the only dyed part was the red. Shadow's eyes were a deep amber, but against the light they looked almost translucent. His shoulders were slightly broader, and his torso was longer. 

All of a sudden, Sonic wondered if Shadow wanted the books in a specific order. After all, Shadow was new here and probably had some kind of organization system he used to keep everything in order. Like Tails, and how he organized all of his robotics stuff in bins. Sonic's room, personally, was a literal tornado, so he didn't really know what it was like to be organized. 

"Do you want these stacked in any particular order? Like, alphabetically?" Sonic asked. 

"Doesn't matter, as long as it gets the job done."  _Hmmm, so he doesn't care about organization..._  Sonic thought.  _Well, at least, not in the current state he's in_. 

Finishing up, Sonic reached to grab another box, but was interrupted by a pair of arms grabbing it before he could. "I'm gonna go unpack in my room, you can just stay out here and get the kitchen stuff," Shadow said hurriedly.  _Huh, could that box contain what Shadow is hiding?_  Sonic wondered, before he saw the label and thought,  _Ohhhhhh, he's just unpacking clothes, okay._

Hearing the door close to Shadow's room, Sonic got up and began searching through boxes to find the kitchen supplies. As he opened the first box, Sonic didn't find kitchen supplies, but instead a family photo of what appeared to be _Shadow's_ family. Shadow looked so... happy, and normal. Looking through the box some more, he found even more photos of family, and a blonde girl a couple years younger than Shadow. She appeared a lot in the majority of photos Shadow had. A girlfriend, maybe? But upon closer inspection, Sonic saw the photos of the girl and Shadow slowly get less happy and more and more depressing. There was one photo of the girl in a hospital bed with Shadow by her side and holding her hand, his face grim. This time, the girl looked like she was about to die, extremely pale and looking deathly sick. _Huh,_ Sonic thought.  _Maybe she died and Shadow is just depressed? But I don't see his family around here either... you'd think they'd live with him unless..._ Sonic's eyes widened. _Unless... they were... dead?_   Sonic's mind went reeling. _Losing his entire family like that, no wonder why he's so messed up!_  

Hearing the door to Shadow's room open, Sonic quickly closed the box and frantically searched for silverware, finding it and rushing over to a drawer to put them away. Shadow emerged not five seconds later, saw Sonic, and went to help him, totally oblivious that he had just been rummaging through some obviously private possessions. A pang of guilt shot through Sonic. He didn't like doing something wrong like that, but if it meant helping someone in need... well...

Grabbing the microwave box, Shadow walked over to a corner counter-top and plugged it into the wall there. Sonic grabbed the toaster and did the same.  _Now, to test something_. Walking back and reaching for a box Sonic knew contained family photos, Shadow suddenly exclaimed, "Wait!"  _Aha, so family is a sensitive topic, got it._  Sonic thought. "Uhmm, we should probably get the TV first, because it would be harder to do later on," Shadow said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.  _Okay,_  Sonic thought. _I see what he's trying to do._  Going over to the box containing the TV, they lifted it together and placed it on the stand. 

* * *

 Before Sonic could get to another box, Shadow suddenly said, 

"Uhmm... you can leave now. Thanks for helping me, I guess."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. He totally knew what was going on. "Ya sure? You've still got more boxes,"

"Yeah, It's fine, those boxes are full of... storage."

"Well, okay. If you need anything just call through this wall," Sonic knocked against the wall the TV was against. "I'm literally right over there."

Nearly laughing at the slightly alarming look on Shadows face at the new knowledge of thin walls, Sonic said, "Welp, see ya!" and jogged out of the apartment and into his own. He plopped down on the couch and started up his PS4. He needed to beat Tails on Fortnite. 

Nearly 6 hours later and sporting 56 wins, Sonic was found passed out on his couch by Tails, who had just emerged from his room after experimenting with his new project. Taking the goggles off his face and onto the top of his head, Tails crept into the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge to find none other than... AHA!! His secret stash of chocolate frosting he had been hoarding from Sonic in a secret drawer for about a week. Grinning mischievously to himself, he took three cans and headed back into his room to probably not sleep. All of a sudden, Tails' train of thought was cut short by seeing the "#1 Victory Royale!" Icon on Sonic's TV.  _Oh hell no,_  Tails thought, and ran into his room. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't judge, okay? I had to make gaming references because I'm nerdy like that. Also, this is kinda how I imagined Tails' and Sonic's brotherly relationship to be. They would always try to outdo each other in one way or another that would eventually end in one of them surrendering on purpose, (Sonic) or one of them using their adorableness to their advantage (Tails) 
> 
> I hope you are enjoying the slight redo and changes I have made in comparison to the original! I decided to redo the original because I felt it was lacking in depth, and clarity on the overall plot.


	4. Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically the chapter name, and some more...

Sonic woke up groggily from his spot on the couch. Looking at his TV, still on from the night before, he smiled.  _Hah,_ he thought. He got up and walked down the hall to his room, but stopped suddenly as the mentally draining noises of machine parts met his ears. _Tails,_  Sonic thought, rolling his eyes. Cautiously, he approached the stainless-steel reinforced door of his best-friend-brother. Tails' door was decorated like a fridge. It had multiple burn marks and dents from projects gone wrong, as well as signs like, “WARNING: PROTECTIVE EYEWEAR REQUIRED,” and “CAUTION: SHARP EDGES,” and “EXPERIMENTAL QUARANTINE ZONE: DO NOT ENTER.” 

Sonic cringed at that last one. He knew that when Tails put up that sign, shit got real. Fighting his curiosity, as well as the burning headache beginning to creep up behind his eyes, Sonic walked the extra two feet to his door, conveniently next to Tails’ lab. Opening the door and skirting around the many empty candy wrappers and dirty socks, Sonic made it to his messy bed and sat down, still only half awake as a result from gaming all night. _“Ughhhhhh...”_   Sonic groaned aloud. 

Just then, Tails apparently decided to make Sonic's oncoming headache even worse by pulling out his welding gun. The zapping and high pitched noises emanating from Sonic’s left wall were enough for him to dare to go into Tails’ room.  _But,_ his conscience told him,  _if you go in there, the noise will be even worse._  Sonic really hated logic sometimes. Sighing instead, Sonic stood up, stretching his body from laying down in a cramped position all night. The satisfying cracking of joints met his ears, and suddenly, he felt like going for a jog. Walking out to the kitchen, Sonic wrote a note to Tails on the fridge, alerting him that he would be gone for a couple hours. Sliding on his shoes, Sonic walked to the door and opened it, pulling out his phone for music and walking out, only to walk straight into a solid figure with an _oof_. 

Both him and the figure stumbled back, and once he regained his footing, Sonic looked up. 

"Oh, sorry Shadow. Didn't see you there." 

Shadow just glared from where he stood. "Yeah, well, I was just about to knock on your door to ask you to kindly stop whatever it is you are doing to cause all of that noise."

Sonic grinned guiltily. "Oh, well, that's sorta my roommate, Tails', project so I'm not sure he'd be okay with stopping right now. Once he's in the mood for inventing, there's no stopping him." 

Shadow just muttered something about not realizing how doing that kind of stuff in an apartment complex with very close neighbors was legal. Sonic sighed. 

"I was actually on my way out for a jog to get away from the noise, wanna come with me?" 

In reality, Shadow felt like he never wanted to step foot outside ever again. He just wanted peace and quiet alone in his room as he thought about life choices and how things would be if they were different. 

When Sonic didn't get a response, he tried something else. "Or, if you're feeling up to it, we could go and get food, or something." 

Shadow shook his head. "Sorry, I'm kinda busy right now," he mumbled and started backpedaling towards his door. 

 _No!_ Sonic thought. _I'm trying to help him, not make him more reclusive!_ But still, he smiled. "Then how about, whenever you wanna go somewhere, or talk, or do something and don't wanna go alone, text me." He pulled out a paper with his number on it and handed it over to Shadow, whose door was now almost closed, Shadow behind it. Hesitantly, the door opened a bit more, and a hand reached out, taking the paper, before the door finally fully closed with a soft click. 

Shaking his head, Sonic jogged down the hall to the elevator, where he exited the lobby at a healthy pace, thinking about Shadow and how he could get closer to him.

* * *

 

Shadow slid down onto the floor, his back to the door with Sonic's number in his hand. So a guy he literally  _just met_ invites him to a jog, possibly food, and gives him his number?  _Weird,_ Shadow thought. Standing up, Shadow walked over to his couch, picked up the remote, and resumed the season finale of _Game of Thrones,_ trying impossibly hard to ignore the incessant hammering emanating from next door.  _Maybe I should have gone with Sonic,_ Shadow thought grudgingly. Realizing that catching up on  _Game of Thrones_ was now utterly impossible, Shadow could think of nothing better to do than sleep with his headphones on full blast. 

Just as he was about to lay down, all of the noise abruptly stopped.  _Thank god,_ Shadow thought, but still moved to lay down again. He had nothing planned for today, and didn't expect to have anything planned for  _any day_ from this point onwards, when all of a sudden, a single and abrupt knock echoed through the apartment. Now highly agitated, Shadow pulled his lips into an angry frown and somewhat marched towards the door. "Sonic, what do you want no- oh," Shadow stopped halfway through his sentence and looked up. A guy with a suit and tie holding a file smiled. "Hello, Shadow. I'm here regarding the funeral." 

Shadow's stomach dropped. 

* * *

 

 _"Hello, Shadow, I'm here regarding the funeral."_ Sonic stopped at the unfamiliar voice coming from the direction of his apartment. He had gone back because he realized that he had forgotten to charge his phone last night while in the midst of gaming, and backpedaled to grab his portable charger. Now, hearing this weird guy talking to who he assumed was Shadow, Sonic stopped, just around the corner from the hall, and listened. 

"Um, yeah, okay. Do you want to come in?" That was Shadow's voice. It sounded shaky. 

"No, staying out here is fine. I will be brief." The strange guy again. There was a shuffling noise as someone stepped out, and then the sound of a door closing. Sonic slowly peeked his head around the corner to see Shadow now standing fully outside of his apartment with the door closed, leaning against it, the strange guy in front of him, holding some sort of file out to Shadow. 

"The funeral will be held 3 weeks from now, at the St. Joseph Funeral Home at 5 PM. We are terribly sorry for the delay in preparation and the funeral itself, but the autopsy has taken longer than expected. The cremation process will occur as soon as the autopsy is completed, confirmed, and the final results are in."

Sonic could see Shadow nod once, slowly, and keep his head down. He said nothing.

"The government has covered all expenses, and there will be a chaperone here to pick you up." 

Shadow mumbled something too quiet for Sonic to hear, and the man in the suit nodded. "Very well then. I am sorry for your loss, Shadow, but things will get better. Goodbye." And with that, the guy walked straight down the hall, straight towards Sonic himself. Quickly, Sonic composed himself and made to look as though he was just walking in. Once the guy passed by, Sonic sighed and looked around the corner again. Shadow was still there, leaning against the door, the file in his hand with no apparent intent to open it any time soon. Now Sonic just felt insanely guilty. He had overheard a government official talking to Shadow about planning a funeral, probably  _his family's_ funeral, and that was just messed up. 

Suddenly, Sonic was mad. Really mad. How could they just expect Shadow to  _plan his own parents' FUNERAL?!_ He sighed. He needed to confront Shadow about this. 

* * *

 

Shadow felt numb. Really, really numb. Everything was _so_ not okay. How was he supposed to just... get over it? It seems like everyone around him expects him to, but he just can't. He tried going to the therapist that the government hired for him at the beginning. When he realized that even a trained official, with a college degree all about helping people with this stuff, couldn't help him, Shadow practically deemed himself a lost cause. Eventually, he just stopped going. He crumbled to the floor with a soft thud. He brought his knee up to his chest and let the other leg lay straight. Realizing everything was suddenly blurry, Shadow carefully brought a hand up to his face and was able to dully comprehend that he was crying. Crying, outside of his apartment, on the floor.  _How pathetic am I?_ Shadow thought.

Suddenly, a pair of legs appeared in front of him. Slowly, Shadow looked up to see none other than Sonic, looking down at him, with a softness in his eyes and a worried expression on his face. Sonic looked... worried, but... was that anger? Why was he mad? Then, a hand appeared in front of his face. Sonic was offering to help him up. Shaking slightly, Shadow took Sonic's warm hand and allowed himself to be pulled up to eye level. Sonic smiled sadly and rested his hands on Shadow's shoulders. Shadow looked down, totally embarrassed to be caught crying in public by his obnoxious neighbor. 

Then, he found himself wrapped in a pair of warm, comforting arms.

Sonic was hugging him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I'm doing good with this fanfiction, I don't want it to be crappy, but I'm not expecting it to be amazing either so... comment for ideas, I guess ^_^


	5. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor shadow is so depressed and angsty... why am I beating him up? -_- I feel kinda bad now... but it’s how the plot is so here’s the next chapter

* * *

 

It has been too long since Shadow had been hugged. The last time he remembered partaking in a hug was when Maria got released from the hospital for the first time. Just thinking about Maria made Shadow cry even harder, and made Sonic’s arms wrap tighter. A soft voice interrupted Shadow’s turmoil of thoughts. 

“We need to talk, buddy.”

Shadow slowly nodded. Obviously, Sonic was trying to be nice to him, and at this point, Shadow honestly didn’t care anymore about trying to be all defensive. He’d already exposed himself by crying, heck, Sonic probably heard the entire conversation he had with the funeral official. 

“Let’s get you into your apartment, ‘kay?” Sonic murmured. 

Shadow nodded again and allowed himself to be led into his own apartment and seated on the couch. Sonic rummaged through his kitchen, trying to find some sort of comfort food to ease tension. Comfort food always helped, after all. 

Shadow curled up into a small ball in the corner of his couch and peered at Sonic from above his knees, a blanket draped around him and muffled sniffles coming from the area. As Sonic found some ramen in a drawer and put it in the microwave to cook, he carefully leaned against the counter and looked at Shadow. It seemed as though the two were having a staring contest to see who would speak first. Sonic decided to start. He chose his words carefully and softened his tone of voice. 

“So, Shadow... I don’t mean to pry or be rude, but I overheard that conversation with the... funeral guy...? and obviously you’re upset about it... and I just want you to know that you’ve got someone to rely on to talk about stuff with, okay? So whenever you’re ready... I’m here to listen. I might not be the best about offering advice, but I can sure as hell lend an ear or two to a struggling friend. Obviously, somethings going on that you don’t want me to know about, and I don’t want to pry into your personal life, but I just want to help, okay? I’m here when you’re ready to talk.” 

With that, Sonic walked over to the couch and sat carefully next to Shadow, who shifted a bit as Sonic handed him the ramen. There was a long pause. Then, Shadow finally looked at him, eyes bleary and face gaunt. “I’ll tell you,” he said in a very quiet voice. Sonic just nodded and smiled warmly. “Okay, I’m all ears”

* * *

 

_Shadow walked down to the car with his family, his mom and dad hopping in and driving swiftly down the road. Today was supposed to be a good day. The weather was absolutely perfect, not a cloud in the sky, the temperature was moderate, and everyone was happy. His parents told jokes and laughed about old memories on the way to their destination, an old friends’ house for a barbecue._

_After the barbecue, they were going to head straight for the hospital. It was Maria’s birthday._

_As they were driving down the main bridge highway, on their way back from the barbecue to the hospital, everything happened so fast that Shadow didn’t have time to react before he was thrown from the car._

_First, one of the many large metal poles used to hold lighting for the bridge suddenly collapsed, right in front of their car, smashing the hood and causing the back wheels to lift up, yanking Shadow and his family forwards and into the windshield before anyone could even scream. Then, the car abruptly descended, popping the two right tires at first impact and causing the car to pitch to the right in a side-roll, just off the bridge and into the frigid waters of the choppy ocean. Shadow was lunged out of the car through the broken side window, landing distantly into the ocean, his parents still inside the car as it sank slowly to the bottom._

_The last thing Shadow remembered before losing consciousness was the faint sound of his parents’ muffled screaming for help through the water and the picture of them reaching for the surface through the cracked windshield, as Shadow looked helplessly down from where he was being pulled to safety._

* * *

 

”I take full responsibility for what happened that night. I couldn’t save them, Sonic. I tried to, but I couldn’t.” Shadows voice was shaky, and he was trembling slightly. “They searched the accident zone tons of times, there were a few suspicious scratch marks alone the pole at the seam where it had fallen, indicating that the accident could have been premeditated murder, but how the killer would know when to cut the pole just as we were driving by seemed highly unlikely, especially given the fact that they couldn’t have cut it that quickly. No other suspicions were reported, and the scratches were then identified as just simple vandalism that someone marked on long ago.”

”No matter how many times I relive that memory, everything just seems too planned for it to have been an accident. No other cars or pedestrians were hurt, the pole hit at a very specific angle, allowing for it to hit us but no one else. As much as I don’t want to believe it, I think that my family was murdered, by who, I don’t know, but I swear to god, Sonic if I find whoever did that, I WILL kill them myself, understand?” 

Shadow looked up from where he was staring blankly at his feet and back up at Sonic, who was staring at him with an emotion in his eyes that Shadow couldn’t place. 

Then, Shadow felt Sonic’s warm arms return around his midsection, and no words were needed. 

Sonic pulled back and looked Shadow dead in the eyes. “Shadow. I will do everything I can to help you, okay? And I swear that everything you just told me is classified to only my brain unless you want it otherwise, got it?” 

Shadow nodded and just stared shocked at the absolute seriousness and resoluteness in Sonic’s voice and expression. He had seemed so carefree, but this was a side Shadow hadn’t seen before in the short time he had known Sonic. 

Sonic stood up, pushing his blue hair out of his eyes and offering Shadow a hand. “I’m gonna be next door, okay? Feel free to come over whenever you want to, whether it’s just to hang out, or if you need a shoulder to cry on. I’ll be there.” 

Shadow just nodded again, and this time it was his turn to initiate a hug. “Thanks, Sonic.” 

“Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! After being gone for so long, I'm still getting into the swing of things, but I promise you THERE WILL BE MORE. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
